Tottenham collapse at Brighton ‘as bad as it gets’

Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven, left, and Brennan Johnson look dejected after defeat in the Premier League match at the American Express Stadium, Brighton, England, Sunday Oct. 6, 2024. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)

BRIGHTON, England — Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou described his team’s second-half collapse in the 3-2 loss at Brighton as “unacceptable” and “as bad as it gets.”

Spurs conceded three goals in an 18-minute span soon after halftime in a meltdown that might be familiar to the club’s fans.

According to Opta, which supplies statistics for the Premier League, it’s the 10th time that Tottenham has lost a Premier League game in which the team has led by two or more goals.

READ: Man United players ‘mad’ about Tottenham loss, says Ten Hag

“It is a terrible loss for us — as bad as it gets,” said Postecoglou, whose side was 2-0 up after goals by Brennan Johnson and James Maddison.

The Australian coach, who is in his second season at Tottenham, said it was the “worst defeat since I’ve been here.”

“Unacceptable second half. Nowhere near where we should be. We got carried away with how we were going,” he said. “We kind of accepted our fate and it is hard to understand as we’ve not done that while I’ve been here. We paid the price.”

Tottenham was coming off a run of five straight wins, which included a 3-0 victory at Manchester United that was widely lauded for the way Postecoglou’s team played.

READ: Man United fans leave early, boo players in 3-0 loss to Tottenham

“The problem is we were traveling along too smoothly — football and life will trip you up if you get too far ahead of yourself,” Postecoglou said.

Maddison said his team “lost complete control of the game.”

“In adversity in the Premier League … the best teams stay strong in that moment and weather the storm,” he said. “We definitely didn’t do that.”